Tread dara is often used as an ornamental plant because of its beautiful shape. However, behind that, there are various benefits of tapak dara for the health of the body, which makes this plant often used as a natural medicine to treat a number of diseases.
Caranthus roseus (L.) G. Don or better known as tapak dara or Madagascar periwinkle is a tropical plant 80–100 cm tall with pink, purple, and white flowers. All parts of the tapak dara plant, such as roots, flowers, leaves, and stems can be used as natural medicine.
Benefits of Tapak Dara for Health
You can get various benefits of tapak dara from the nutrients contained in it, such as carbohydrates, flavonoids, saponins, and alkaloids. However, alkaloids are the compounds that have the most potential to bring benefits to the tapak dara plant.
Below are the benefits of tapak dara for health:
1. Treating cancer
Treating cancer is one of the well-known benefits of tapak dara. This benefit is obtained from a type of alkaloid compound called vinblastine and vincristine, which is abundant in the leaves and stems of tread dara.
Vinblastine and vincristine It is often used as the main active compound in chemotherapy to treat various types of cancer, such as lung cancer, breast cancer, leukemia, lymphosarcoma, choriocarcinoma, and neuroblastoma.
2. Prevents oxidative damage
The flavonoid content of the tapak dara plant has excellent antioxidant properties to prevent oxidative damage due to excess free radicals in the body.
This can reduce your risk of developing various chronic diseases, such as atherosclerosis, hypertension, and neurodegenerative diseases, such as Parkinson's disease and Alzheimer's disease.
3. Lowering blood sugar levels
Compound vindoline and vindolicine in the tapak dara plant is able to lower blood sugar levels, thereby reducing your risk of developing diabetes. In addition, these two compounds can also be used to treat type 2 diabetes.
4. Lowering cholesterol levels
Research says that the content of flavonoids and vinpocetine contained in tapak dara leaf extract has properties to reduce total cholesterol, triglycerides, and bad cholesterol (LDL).
This in turn can reduce your risk of developing diseases due to high cholesterol levels, such as stroke, heart attack, and chronic kidney disease.
5. Treat diarrhea
This is also one of the benefits of tread dara. Research shows that the ethanolic extract of tapak dara leaves has good antidiarrheal properties, so it can help relieve symptoms and treat diarrhea.
Although the benefits of tapak dara for health are quite diverse, these benefits still require further research. In addition, there is a risk of side effects that you need to be aware of behind the use of tapak dara, such as nausea, vomiting, hair loss, dizziness, bleeding, seizures, to liver damage.
Therefore, if you want to use tapak dara to treat the disease you are suffering from, make sure you consult a doctor first. That way, your doctor can suggest the best treatment for your condition.